The present disclosure relates generally to nanowire devices and methods of making the same.
Since the inception of semiconductor technology, a consistent trend has been toward the development of smaller device dimensions and higher device densities. As a result, nanotechnology has seen explosive growth and generated considerable interest. Nanotechnology is centered on the fabrication and application of nano-scale structures, or structures having dimensions that are often 5 to 100 times smaller than conventional semiconductor structures. Nanowire devices are included in the category of nano-scale structures.
Nanowires are wire-like structures having diameters on the order of about 1 nm to about 100 nm. Nanowires are suitable for use in a variety of applications, including functioning as conventional wires for interconnection applications, as semiconductor devices, and as sensors. While holding much promise, the practical application of nanowires has been somewhat limited. In particular, mechanical and electro-migration based techniques for producing gaps or break junctions in the nanowire are generally not reproducible. Furthermore, such techniques generally do not enable accurate control over the size and/or position of the gap or break junction.